2020 Continues Mostly At Home

2020 continues to be crazy, unexpected, and in most respects disappointing. The world has, at times, felt full of contention, anger and uncertainty. These messages can seem to drown out the messages and acts of hope, kindness and love that occur daily. During these difficult times I work on:

• Being empathetic; “When given the choice between being right or being kind choose kind.” R.J. Palacio, Wonder
• Embracing change, while change is at times difficult, change is the way to build a better world; “Change is the law of life, and those who look only to the past and present are certain to miss the future” John F. Kennedy
• Thinking critically; "The important thing is not to stop questioning." - Albert Einstein
• Remaining optimistic; "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”" Fred Rodgers
• Moving forward; “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: It goes on.” Robert Frost

We have begun to see glimmers of normalcy in our lives. We were able to take our first trip outside of Utah in months. The company I work for began opening their office. I am part of the first wave of employees that is allowed to work in the office. I spent one day in the office, and decided it wasn't worth the commute at this point. I will continue to work from home for the time being.

We have watched the increasing rate of Covid-19 in Utah with trepidation. The situation is certainly not going in the right direction. We hope our community will be able to turn it around. We were sad when Disneyland postponed their reopening. We had a trip planned in July that we have now canceled. We still have another summer trip scheduled in the upcoming month that we are more confident will happen. It is more geared toward spending time outdoors and should be compatible with social distancing guidelines. We recognize there is still a lot of risk due to covid-19 and we continue to take precautions to protect ourselves and our loved ones. 

Here are a few of the things we have been up to for the past few weeks, while we have mostly been home:

Pride Month

The calendar has flipped to June. It is now Pride Month. Because of covid, many of the normal pride month events have been cancelled. This year to commemorate pride we got a pride flag to display at our home. While it is a relatively small thing, it is one of the ways we show support for the LGBTQ community. The flag is displayed right outside our dining room window. While I am working from home, my workspace looks out toward this flag. Often I look up and see this symbol of love, acceptance, diversity and inclusivity and it makes me happy. 

Skylee was at our house the night we put the flag up. She asked what it was and her Mom explained to her that it's how we support Uncle Bret. Skylee was satisfied with this answer because she loves her uncle. 

Skylee Time

We have continued to attend home church at Kristin and Dan's house. Most of Alison's immediate family comes too. It is our favorite way to attend to church. After church a couple of weeks ago Skylee came over to our house to hang out. Our original plan was to go paddle boarding, but it was too windy so we took her to a nearby splash pad instead. She loved running through the water. When we came home we recreated her favorite Disney treat - a Mickey Mouse M&M rice crispy treat. They were exactly like the ones you get from Disneyland. 

Utah Taste Off

When Kristin saw the Utah Taste Off was tackling snicker-doodles she forwarded the message onto Alison (I am big fan of snicker-doodles). Alison ordered the snicker-doodle box. Because of covid, the Utah Taste Off cancelled their in person events. Instead they provide a box, score sheets, etc. so you can participate it at home. We like it better this way. We buy a box and cut the cookies into pieces so that way Alison's whole family can participate. We all had slightly different opinions on the best cookies, but we all agreed the Cookie Crave had the best snicker-doodle. 

Family Time

If I had to look for a bright side to this pandemic, it would be the time we have spent with family. Since Alison and I have been home we have had more time to spend with the people we love. Recently, Alison and Kristin began working out a few evenings a week. While they work out I will usually watch Skylee and Holly. I love spending time with my nieces. 

Hiking

One Saturday morning we went with Kristin, Dan and the girls on a hike. We hiked to the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge. It was a relatively short and easy hike. It was fun to be out and about.

Piñata Party 

Our neighbor, Aleisha, is known as the Piñata lady. She is always on the lookout for opportunities to serve and spread joy. For one of her ongoing service projects she delivers piñatas to people. The recipients are often nominated due to a hardship or challenge they are facing. She then picks out a personalized piñata to bring a smile to their face. She was recently featured on the TV show Random Acts. During the show they made a giant piñata for her. For her birthday this year, her husband and a friend arranged for the show to give her the giant piñata. They had a birthday party in the ally way behind our homes, with the giant piñata and churros. It was a great party. We love living in Daybreak because we have awesome neighbors who take time to get to know each other. There is a real sense of community here. 

Aleisha temporarily left the piñata up behind her house. We brought Skylee over to see it. Skylee was very impressed. Afterward Skylee hung out at our house and played Exploding Kittens - she loves the song the box plays when it is opened. 

Beef & Pork

Near the end of last year Alison was considering purchasing a quarter cow. This idea has been on the back burner. When news hit that there may be disruptions to the meat supply chain due to the pandemic we started looking again at purchasing bulk meat. However, most butcher shops were scheduling processing many months out. Right when we were deciding what we should do, Alison's cousin posted that they were looking to sell some beef from their ranch in Ephraim. We were excited about the opportunity to buy Shumway beef. To prepare for this large quantity of meat we had to get a freezer. Alison's grandmother decided she didn't need her freezer anymore. She very generously gave it to us. The timing could not have been better. We moved the freezer at the beginning of June, days before we got a call that the beef was ready. Alison and her parent's drove down to Ephraim to pick it up. Shortly after we purchased the beef a women in our neighborhood posted that her buyer for half a pig fell through. We jumped on that opportunity as well. By the end of June we had a large quantity of beef and pork. 

Tex and CC update

Tex and CC continue to do well. They like having us at home. CC does get a little annoyed that Alison spends her days working on the couch. Occasionally, CC will camp out there before Alison starts working. She seriously won't move to let Alison sit on the couch, and Alison doesn't have the hear tot move her. So sometimes Alison only gets a small portion of the couch. Tex loves midday frisbee sessions and longer daily walks. It has been warm lately, so we got his haircut. He looks great. 

Blu stayed with us for a few days. He and CC made a tentative peace. 

Tex got a haircut. He looks so handsome.